I Dream of Dracula
by crysania1
Summary: A tragedy about the so-called monster, Dracula and an innocent girl named Elise
1. The Prologue

Prologue: (voice over: a man's voice; deep with age) Our story starts in a little town in Genoa, Italy where there lived a girl named Elise. At that time she was already a woman at 19 years of age. She lived with her real father whose work had caused her mother's absence from her early life. Her father was a skilled master craftsman who traveled all over Italy, often leaving Elise at the care of her mother and later on her nursemaid, Antonia. When her mother left her when she was only 5 years old, her father fell in love with the nursemaid and soon they were wed. And so they lived in happiness for 14 more years. One day, while Elise was outside in the fields practicing her archery with her stepbrother, Paco, she received an engraved letter which she immediately took to her father. The letter it turns out, was a wedding invitation for her real mother's wedding. Seeing that her father was willing to make peace and attend the wedding, Elise decided to suspend her disbelief and attend it as well if only to meet her real mother once again. In about four weeks, Elise, Paco, her father and stepmother were off to Transylvania to attend a wedding. 


	2. Act 1: Romania

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following play is based somewhat on Shakespeare's style of writing. I'm not talking about the prose or the poetic romance in his writings but what I'm referring to is the basic structure of the way his play is presented. By Act, Scene and in Dialogue form. I do not provide much description because my original purpose for this play is that you will read it out loud and see which accent or which mood best suits the character. I do this in order that you, my dear reader would learn to master the art of imagination and that you would have a fun time doing so. To further help you in your readings, I have included the real names and nationalities of the characters. Good luck.  
  
CHARACTERS:  
  
Dracula (I based him on the really cute Dracula from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)  
  
Elise (Elizelda Tchedotovsky-Porpington) British-Romanian  
  
Papa (William Edmund Waldo Porpington) British  
  
Antonia [Elise's Stepmother] (Antonia de Medicci) Italian  
  
Paco [Elise's Stepbrother] (Paquito de Medicci) Italian  
  
Mama (Annyekö Tchedotovsky] Romanian  
  
Angelino [Elise's Stepfather] (Angelino Milano) Italian  
  
Maria Anna [Elise's Stepsister] (Maria Anna Tchedotovsky-Milano) Romanian-Italian  
  
Natalya [Elise's Best friend] (Natalya de Tavera-Reid) Spanish  
  
Estefan [Elise's Boyfriend and Natalya's Stepbrother] (Estefan Reid) Spanish-American  
  
I DREAM OF DRACULA ACT 1: ROMANIA  
  
Scene 1: (Elise and her family arrive safely in Romania. They decide to stay in her father's Porpington Ancestral home. While there, Elise is surprised to discover that her best friend, Natalya was there on vacation. While visiting the local market in the Transylvanian town of Sighisoara, she comes across the legend of Count Dracula. Enchanted by the tale, she asks anyone she sees about their take on the story, much to the dismay of Natalya and Paco who seem to have heard about Dracula over a million times already.)  
  
Enter: Elise and Paco with Papa and Antonia behind  
  
Elise: Wow. This is a very beautiful place, Papa. Who does it belong to?  
  
Papa: Why my little darling, Elise. It belongs to us! It was my old great- great-great Grandfather's home. And a bloody good home it is too! Why I remember when I was just a young lad, I would come here and I would run straight to the banisters and slide down, much to the dismay of my old nanny of course. *laughs  
  
Elise: I'm sure you won't be trying that out soon will you, Papa?  
  
Papa: By jove! That's the best idea I've ever heard!  
  
Antonia: Oh! Don't do that Edmund! Think of your back!  
  
Paco: Oh let him do it Mom! Let him have some fun once in a while.  
  
Papa: I'll be all right Tony, don't worry!  
  
Antonia: *sighs. It's Antonia, dear. I still cannot get used to being called Tony.  
  
Elise: She's right Papa. Tony is a boy's name. Besides, Antonia suits her fine.  
  
Antonia: Thank you, dear. By the way, I forgot to tell you, Natalya's here. She decided to pass by Romania after her trip to visit her Mama in Spain.  
  
Elise: Really? That's great! Where is she staying?  
  
Antonia: In some village in Sighisoara. I think that's on the other side.  
  
Elise: May I go and visit her then?  
  
Antonia: I don't know dear. That's pretty much a village and you'll be among commoners.  
  
Elise: I'll be extra careful. I promise.  
  
Antonia: What do you think Edmund?  
  
Papa: Well. I guess you are old enough. Oh all right! You may go so long as Paco accompanies you.  
  
Paco: Good! I'd love to see Natalya again.  
  
Elise: Good! Come on Paco, let's go!  
  
Exit Elise and Paco  
  
At the village in Sighisoara  
  
Natalya: Elise! Is that you?  
  
Elise: Natalya!  
  
Natalya: Elisa mi amiga!  
  
Paco: Hola Elise!  
  
Natalya: Hola Paco! I'm so glad you two were allowed to meet me here.  
  
Elise: It's a good thing Paco was here. If not I wouldn't have been allowed to go.  
  
Natalya: Well, this isn't exactly a place you should go to if you fear commoners.  
  
Elise: I don't fear commoners. I just don't understand them too well, that's all.  
  
Paco: So why did you choose this of all places, Natalya?  
  
Natalya: Well. my father has been after me to, how you say "mingle" with other people.  
  
Elise: Oh, I see. Are you alone?  
  
Natalya: No, of course not. Papa, I mean, Daddy is with me. And so is Estefan.  
  
Paco: Estefan is here? Where?  
  
Natalya: He's at the village market, I think.  
  
Elise: Why didn't he tell me he was in town?  
  
Natalya: Well.maybe he wanted to surprise you?  
  
Paco: Yeah! That's it, he wanted to surprise you.  
  
Elise: Oh. yeah. probably.  
  
Natalya: Listen, let's say we go meet him at the village market ah?  
  
Elise: Alright! I'd love to see Estefan again.  
  
Paco: Hey, wait for me!  
  
Exit Elise, Paco and Natalya  
  
At the marketplace in Sighisoara  
  
Vendor: Amulets! Magic amulets for sale! Guaranteed to protect you from the unspeakable evil that-  
  
Natalya: That lurks in the dark. I know, you've been saying that since a week ago my good man.  
  
Vendor: Natalya! You come to grace me with your presence again! Ah, I am unworthy.  
  
Natalya: Oh! Stop it Radu! *laughs  
  
Paco: Pssst! Natalya. Who is he?  
  
Natalya: Oh where are my manners!? Radu, meet my friends, Paco and Elise. They're visitors from Italy.  
  
Radu: Ah. welcome to Sighisoara friends.  
  
Elise: Thank you.  
  
Paco: H-h-hello. A-a-are you a shaman?  
  
Radu: Ahahahahaha!!! A shaman? A shaman is from India and Africa my friend. I am not a shaman! Just a poor vendor trying to make an honest living out of the tale of Dracula.  
  
Paco: Whew! For a second there I thought- Elise: Dracula? Who is Dracula? Radu: Who is Dracula! Who is Dracula! You mean you've never heard the tale of the most terrifying, most bloodthirsty, most sinister vampire?!  
  
Natalya: Oh please, Radu. Don't scare Elise. You know it's just a legend.  
  
Radu: Aaaah Yes. But. not all legends are fake my friend.  
  
Elise: Please, tell me about Dracula. Start from the beginning.  
  
Natalya: Hold on! You two continue your storytelling whilst I go and find Estefan. Would you like to come along, Paco?  
  
Paco: Sure.  
  
Elise: Good. Now tell me about Dracula, Radu. Don't leave out any detail!  
  
Radu: Alright. But I must warn you, miss. This is not for the faint of heart. It all started one day when this man called Vlad Dracula became the Prince of Wallachia. He was a terrible and handsome man. He was known to be very ruthless, even to his own subjects-  
  
Elise: Why? Was he bad?  
  
Radu: No one knows for sure but many believe that it was because of all the violence and hardships he had to endure in order to stay alive to keep his throne. Whatever the reason, Dracula became the most feared man in Romania. One day, when he was still a young man in his early 20's, he fell in love with a village girl named Isadora. She was probably the most beautiful girl in the whole of Romania at that time and she was also of pure heart. Since Dracula was a man of good looks, Isadora too fell in love with him but once she found out about his wicked ways, she soon fled from him and landed into the courts of his rival, Vladislov II, who was the son of the old Danesti ruler. This enraged the young Prince who soon saw to it that Vladislov II was captured and impaled as was his favorite form of torture. Seeing her lover brutalized, Isadora called upon an ancient god long forgotten to bring a curse upon the young Dracula. But this god required a sacrifice and so Isadora offered herself to be slain in order that the curse be carried out. At the fifth hour after her death, Dracula was filled with immense pain and soon he became a vampire. He disappeared from his castle and was never seen or heard from again, save in legend.  
  
Elise: .  
  
Radu: Speechless? Yes, it is to be expected. He was a horrible and vile man-  
  
Elise: I think he was misunderstood.  
  
Radu: Yes, I know-what?! Misunderstood?! Oh no! Say not so miss! He was a murderer and a devil!  
  
Elise: I think he just wanted his Isadora back.  
  
Radu: Oh! No! Little miss. He wanted suffering and pain! Do you not know what Dracula means? 'Dracu' is Romanian for devil and 'la' means the. Dracula is the Devil!  
  
Elise: Oh come on Radu. You exaggerate.  
  
Radu: No little miss. It is all truth.  
  
Elise: Well, thanks for the story anyway. Do you think he exists?  
  
Radu: No one can tell miss. At least, no one lives long enough after meeting him.  
  
Elise: Well, thanks anyway Radu. Here's something for your troubles.  
  
Radu: Thank you my friend! Good luck on your quest!  
  
Close curtain. Open to the Next Scene 


	3. Scene 2: Preparations

Scene 2: Antonia tries very hard to convince Papa to attend the wedding as he is very nervous at the thought of meeting his ex-wife again. Elise on the other hand, is very excited to meet her mother and cannot wait to leave. The scene ends with a very touching moment between Paco and Elise as they recount their past relationship.  
  
Enter Antonia and Papa (Conversation has already begun)  
  
Papa: I don't know Antonia. I don't think I can go through with this.  
  
Antonia: Come now Edmund. It's not that hard you know.  
  
Papa: It's been 14 bloody years for crying out loud! How am I supposed to wish her the best of luck when what I actually want is for her to sod off for leaving me!  
  
Antonia: Oh Edmund! Forgive her. Besides, if she had not left, we would never have ended up together. Maybe this is the way it was meant to be.  
  
Papa: I hope you're right, Antonia. I hope you're right.  
  
Close curtain. Open to Elise's room.  
  
  
  
Enter Natalya  
  
  
  
Elise: Ciao Natalya!  
  
Natalya: Ciao! Is that the dress you're wearing for the wedding?  
  
Elise: Yes. Isn't it lovely?  
  
Natalya: It matches well with your purple eyes.  
  
Elise: That's what I thought too. Antonia made it for me.  
  
Natalya: Really? I didn't know she could do that.  
  
Elise: She can do so many things. It's amazing.  
  
Natalya: Well, are you excited about the wedding?  
  
Elise: Very! I can't wait to meet my mother again. I have so many questions to ask and so many stories to tell. I also want her to meet Paco.  
  
  
  
Enter Paco  
  
Paco: Someone call me?  
  
Natalya: Oh! Paco. You're dressed up already.  
  
Elise: He was dressed hours ago. I guess he's even more excited about the wedding than I am.  
  
Paco: Well, it's the first wedding I'll be attending, so I thought I'd get ready early.  
  
Natalya: This isn't your first wedding. Weren't you present when Edmund married Antonia?  
  
Paco: No. Elise and I escaped and went boating by the riverside.  
  
Elise: Wow. I can't believe you still remembered that, Paco.  
  
Paco: How could I forget? It was the best hour of my life just being alone with you.  
  
Natalya: *cough, cough. Uh. I think I'll go down and get the coaches ready.  
  
Elise: Oh! Yes, it's almost time to go. I'll go with you. Paco are you ready?  
  
Paco: You go on ahead, Elise.  
  
  
  
Exit Natalya and Elise  
  
Paco: [to himself] If only things could be different, Elise. What a bride you would have been.  
  
  
  
Exit Paco 


	4. Scene 3: Confrontations

Scene 3: This scene opens as Elise and family attend the reception after finishing the wedding. Elise and Edmund finally get a chance to have a talk with Mama Annyekö and straighten things out. Natalya and Paco have a long talk outside in the balcony about what happened moments before they left for the wedding.  
  
On stage is Annyekö, Angelino and Maria Anna  
  
  
  
  
  
Enter Elise, Edmund, Antonia, Natalya and Paco  
  
Mama: Edmund! Elizelda! I'm so glad you made it!  
  
Edmund: Hello Annye! You haven't aged at all. Still beautiful as before!  
  
Mama: Oh! Edmund. Still charming as ever. My Elizelda! How you've grown!  
  
Elise: Mama! I'm so glad to see you, after all these years!  
  
Mama: There will be much to talk about later. Let me introduce to you my husband, Angelino.  
  
Angelino: Ciao!  
  
Edmund: Ah! So this is the Angelino I've heard about. I'm glad to have finally met you.  
  
Angelino: I'm glad as well. Have you met our daughter, Maria Anna?  
  
Elise: You have a daughter?  
  
Maria Anna: Hello! My name is Maria Anna and I'm 8 years old!  
  
Edmund: Hello there Maria Anna. I'm Uncle Edmund and this is you're stepsister, Elise.  
  
Elise: Nice to meet you Maria Anna. Oh, by the way, meet my stepmother, Antonia and stepbrother, Paco.  
  
Mama: Antonia! I haven't seen you in a long time! We truly must catch up with old times.  
  
Antonia: Yes. There will be much time for talk later on. But now we'll leave you and let you get re-aquainted with Elise and Edmund.  
  
Angelino: Yes, that's right. Why don't I show you around? Come, Maria Anna. Let's show the bella Antonia around the house.  
  
Maria Anna: Okay! Come on!  
  
Exit Maria Anna, Angelino and Antonia  
  
Natalya: Paco and I will be at the balcony, right Paco?  
  
Paco: We will?  
  
Natalya: *nudges Paco. Yes. We will.  
  
Paco: Oh. Yeah. We'll see you later.  
  
Exit Natalya and Paco  
  
Elise: Oh Mama! I have missed you so much.  
  
Mama: I've missed you too. Both of you.  
  
Papa: Annye. I must tell you something. I almost did not come to the wedding.  
  
Mama: I would have understood if you did not go. But you did go and that makes me very happy.  
  
Elise: Papa, please tell me you're not mad at Mama anymore?  
  
Papa: No I'm not mad anymore, Elise. I've forgiven and forgotten.  
  
Mama: I'm glad we could still be friends after all these years, Edmund.  
  
Papa: Me too. For Elise's sake.  
  
Elise: Mama. Why did you leave us?  
  
Papa: Now, Elise. This is not the time nor the place to-  
  
Mama: It's alright Edmund. She deserves to know.  
  
Elise: Well?  
  
Mama: I left because I could not handle being alone all the time. You see you're father was the outdoorsman and I was more at home but just because I wanted to be indoors, that did not mean I wanted to be alone.  
  
Papa: You're Mama's right, Elise. We were two different people and we could not give in to each other.  
  
Elise: Oh. but things worked out okay didn't it?  
  
Mama: Oh yes, I would say so.  
  
Papa: Things are as they should be.  
  
Elise: I'm glad we had this talk. It brings closure to all these wounds I've had for so long.  
  
Mama: You're all grown up, Elise. No longer a little girl, and this was the right time for you to know.  
  
Papa: Well, now that everything's settled, we can finally catch up on old times! Annye, what do you say to a little fencing?  
  
Mama: Well, alright then. Just don't ruin my dress.  
  
Elise: And I'll go look for Maria Anna.  
  
Exit Annyekö, Edmund and Elise  
  
Close curtain. Open on balcony with Natalya and Paco  
  
Paco: Why did you bring me here, Natalya?  
  
Natalya: We need to talk, Paco.  
  
Paco: There's nothing to talk about.  
  
Natalya: Oh I believe there is something, Paco. You can't keep this from me forever. I'm not stupid you know.  
  
Paco: I don't know what you're talking about.  
  
Natalya: Please Paco! I just want you to be honest with me. What happened back there with you and Elise? Is there something I should know?  
  
Paco: Nothing happened, Natalya. It's all in the past and I don't want to dwell on it anymore.  
  
Natalya: Just tell me what happened. I won't condemn you. I'm you're friend remember?  
  
Paco: Alright. If you must know, Elise and I used to date before Edmund and my Mother got married.  
  
Natalya: What? How could that be? I know for a fact that Edmund and Antonia we're living together since Elise was 5 years old.  
  
Paco: I was living with my father then. Elise and I met at a costume party and for some reason, we never introduced each other to our mother and father.  
  
Natalya: So then what happened?  
  
Paco: Soon I had to leave for Bastogne where I was attending boarding school. We kept in touch through countless letters. And then one day, my father died and I was sent to leave for my mother's house. I remember I was so happy because I knew I'd see Elise again. But when I got to Genoa, I found out that she was to be my stepsister. From then on, my life was ruined. I had found the girl of my dreams, only to later on have her snatched away from me and marked forbidden.  
  
Natalya: Paco. I'm sorry. I did not know it caused you so much pain. I should never have-  
  
Paco: It's alright Natalya. I feel better now that I can talk to someone about it.  
  
Natalya: So, how do feel about Elise going out with my stepbrother, Estefan?  
  
Paco: I feel hurt.  
  
Natalya: Hurt?  
  
Paco: I feel hurt that Elise could move on while I still cannot. It pains me to see them and it would be easier for me if Estefan were not my friend but I love him dearly and I could not think of a bad thought for him.  
  
Natalya: Oh, Paco. It will be alright. I just know someday you'll meet the right girl and then we'd all be happy for you.  
  
Paco: I hope so, Natalya. I hope so.  
  
Close Curtain. Open to next scene 


End file.
